By DANA SPITZER

Managing Editor

Marissa, Ill. - Driving south on Illinois Route 4 through the flat farm fields of Southern Illinois, then turning east on Route 15, one of the first things a person notices on the horizon about 12 miles away is a stack jutting nearly 700 feet into the sky. The Prairie State Energy Campus' stack is taller than the tallest skyscrapers in St. Louis, avout 50 miles to the northwest. It is 70 feet higher than the Gateway Arch.

To many of the people who live in the small towns around here, and to more than 2,300 union construction workers from Southern Illinois and several other states, the plant and its concrete chimney stack are a beacon of hope in an economy that has seen thousands of construction workers in Illinois and Missouri thrown out of work in the last few years.

Prairie State Energy Campus is a $4 billion investment and construction project of one of the largest and most technologically sophisiticated coal-fired power plants in the country.

Its economic benefits ripple all the way back to St. Louis and beyond. Prairie State will contribute more than $785 million annually and $22 billion over 30 years in economic activity in Illinois.

In addition to its economic benefits, Prairie State is an impressive environmental story. When Prairie State starts producing electricity in August of 2011, its emissions will be less than one half of the average of the regulated emissions rates of all U.S. coal plants operating at that time. There will be fewer emissions by Prairie State than by any other coal-fired power plant in Illinois.

Prairie State's environmental controls make up half of the footprint of the power plant. The plant's complex emission controls will remove 99.9 percent of particulates and 98 percent of sulfur dioxide. Its carbon dioxide production will be 15 percent less than the typical coal plant in the United States.

The plant will use pulverized coal technology, where coal is ground to about the consistency of talcum powder and used as fuel for a boiler to heat water and produce steam. The steam drives a turbine, which in turn, drives an electrical generator that produces electricity. The plant's technology decreases the amount of coal needed and thus the amount of carbon generated.

The electricity produced by Prairie State will provide affordable, reliable energy to 2.5 million families and businesses across nine Midwestern, Eastern and Southern states.

Illinois officials like U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Jerry Costello say that coal is an essential power source for the country, and will be for some time to come. This is even as the nation adds more alternative energy sources to its energy portfolio, such as wind and solar, which are still in their infancy and at least a generation away from supplying a significant part of the country's energy.

Despite a century of coal mining, Illinois sits on a sea of coal still capable of producing more energy than the oil fields of Saudi Arabia.

2,300 UNION WORKERS

Over 2,300 union workers are swarming around the Prairie State construction site busily putting together two giant boiler and turbine units. In a time when work can be hard to find,  workweeks of 60 hours or more have been typical. At an average hourly rate of $27, plus health insurance and pension benefits, the project is a godsend to workers who have seen residential and commercial jobs evaporate in the last two years.

The project has used local workers and suppliers whenever possible, using the products and services of over 150 local suppliers and vendors.

The turbines will ultimately produce 1,600 megawatts of electricity with the help of a 443-ton stator for Unit 1, part of the generator, shipped up the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the Kaskaskia River by barge and then delivered to the construction site by an 18-axle remote-controlled heavy haul vehicle.

Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest engineering and construction firms in the world, is responsible for installing the sophisticated equipment. They will be relying on the skills and experience of the union workers currently employed on the project to build one of the biggest power plants in the country.

Bechtel has been in business for over a century. It has built large industrial facilities on every continent for governments and other corporations. Its standards for quality work and safety are as high as any company's in the world, and higher than most. In 2009, workers at Prairie State achieved almost three million safe hours of work without a loss time injury.

Dave Ross, Bechtel's Assistant Project Manager, says good communications is the key to meeting the project's responsibilities.

"You can't have 2,300 people in 15 different unions spread over 630 acres in dozens of work sites not knowing what they are supposed to be doing every single hour of the day. It's an amazing task. We have to have every single person knowing what they are supposed to be doing every single minute."

SAFETY IS JOB ONE

The guys on the jobsite say that the pressure on workers to meet the safety goals and quality standards set forth by Prairie State Generating Company, LLC and Bechtel have been challenging. They say it is much tougher than many of them had ever experienced.

Everyone on the job is expected to watch out for the safety of their fellow workers. Any craftsperson can stop a work activity if he or she thinks it is unsafe.

Moreover, the priorities of the Foremen and Superintendents are focused on meeting safety goals first, and then production goals.

Bechtel, the Southwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, and their affiliated member unions, adopted a policy to emphasize that every worker is not just responsible for his or her own safety. All 15 unions affiliated with the council signed a joint declaration for the Prairie State project committing to "courageous safety leadership" regardless of rank or position.

"If they meet their goals, they get a bonus, so it comes down to us meeting their goals for them," said one worker, who praises Bechtel for its quality standards and emphasis on safety, aimed at allowing everone on the job to safely go home each day.

BIG CHALLENGE FOR WELDERS

Of more than 2,000 welders who have been referred for jobs at Prairie State, about half have passed Bechtel's rigorous qualification test.

Rick Eller, business manager of Boilermakers Local 363, represents approximately 500 boilermakers at the job; about half are welders. He said, "The project was the biggest we've ever seen around here, and it seemed unorganized [at first], but I've been impressed with how fast it has moved. There have been leaps and bounds of improvements." He added, "It's been great to have the work in this economy."

Bill Adrian, business manager of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 101 in Belleville, also has approximately 250 welders on the job. Local 101's members and many travelers do the fit-up and welding on all of the piping systems at the site.

Adrian said his members had never encountered pipes as large as some of those being installed at Prairie State. Pipes that are 30 inches in diameter and four to six inches thick can take two welders two days to weld one joint, he said, compared to maybe an hour or two on typical pipes.

Adrian continues, "It was a steep learning curve for us. The work was complex and unique. We had never worked on anything of that size. Once our guys went through the training and got qualified, I think they found it very gratifying.

Adrian says Bechtel has been a tough, but fair company to work for. "Our relationship has been very good. It's been difficult for some to make some of the adjustments, but overall I think it's been a wonderful opportunity for all of us."

Dale Stewart, executive secretary-treasurer of the Southwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, compliments Bechtel for its emphasis on safety and quality.

He and the other union leaders on the job appreciate a monthly labor-management meeting that Bechtel started that gives both sides a chance to air their concerns. He says management and labor have worked well on the project.

"There are always issues on these big jobs, but we've worked them out like we usually do. This project is much bigger than we're used to, but we'll do it. We'll get it done on time and under budget. That's our goal, and we usually make it."